The present invention relates generally to the field of note counters and, more particularly, to a note counter capable of accommodating a variety of international currency bills and which may be customized according to the type of international currency system being evaluated.
Note counters are machines which are designed to rapidly count the number of xe2x80x9cnotes,xe2x80x9d or currency bills in a stack of currency bills. Stacks of bills to be counted by a note counter are usually pre-sorted so that every bill in the stack is of the same type of currency system and denomination as the other bills in the stack. There are a variety of different types of note counters, ranging in sophistication from those which simply count the number of bills in the stack, without regard to the quality or authenticity of the bill, to those which are capable of discriminating between acceptable and non-acceptable bills, such as between genuine and counterfeit bills, in the stack. In either type of note counter, the operator usually enters the denomination of the bills through some sort of operator interface such as a keypad. Thereafter, in either type of note counter, the aggregate value of counted bills may be computed by multiplying the number of counted bills by the denomination indicated by the operator. In the more sophisticated note counters capable of discriminating between acceptable and non-acceptable bills, acceptance or rejection of an individual bill is based on a comparison of one or more sensed characteristics of the bill with prestored data defining an acceptable bill.
There are a variety of different types of sensors, including, for example, authentication and counting sensors that detect magnetic and/or optical characteristics. Several characteristics which may be detected from the bills include, for example, magnetic content, optical reflectance or transmittance, size (e.g., length or width), watermark, fluorescence, color, etc. The prestored data defines an acceptable bill and is compared to data corresponding to the detected characteristics from the bills under test. The prestored data varies according to the characteristics detected and the type of sensors employed.
As a general rule, the type of sensors, the sensed characteristics, the prestored data and the operator interface which is appropriate (or desired) for a particular note counter will vary according to the type of currency system and the denomination of the bills that are to be processed by the note counter. For example, with respect to the type of sensor and the characteristics sensed, a note counter using an optical sensor and size detection may be appropriate for counting British currency but less desirable for counting United States currency. Similarly, even where the type of sensor and sensed characteristics are otherwise the same, the prestored data defining an acceptable bill will vary according to the currency type and/or denominations to be accommodated. For example, in a note counter using size detection as a discriminating parameter, an xe2x80x9cacceptablexe2x80x9d size for a British £5 note (145.5xc3x9777.8 mm) will differ from an xe2x80x9cacceptablexe2x80x9d size for a German 5 DM (deutsche mark) note (120xc3x9760 mm).
Prior note counters were dedicated to one particular type of currency system. Thus, these note counters were configured for that type of currency system, e.g., the appropriate sensor alignment, the appropriate authentication tests, etc. In some of these prior system, the operator interface only had denomination keys for that particular type of currency system. For example, note counters designed to process United States currency included selection options for the currency denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 and displayed the U.S. dollar ($) sign. Conversely, note counters designed to process British currency included selection options for the British currency denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 and displayed the British pound (£) sign. In other system, denominational information was input via a generic numerical keypad.
Regardless of the type of note counter, therefore, it can be seen that the features needed or desired to accommodate a particular type of currency system may differ from features which are needed or desired to accommodate another type. Note counters known in the art do not have the flexibility to accommodate multiple types of currency systems because their features are rigidly dedicated to handling a particular type of currency. For example, such a dedicated counter may be defined to perform a particular type authentication test requiring a particular type of sensor, to sense a particular characteristic of a bill, to compare sensed data a particular set of prestored data defining an acceptable bill and/or to have an operator interface which is fixed to a particular display language, currency symbol and type of currency system.
Consequently, there is a need for a note counter that is capable of accommodating a number of different types of currency systems through its operator interface, sensor(s), sensed characteristic(s), and/or prestored data defining an acceptable bill. The present invention is directed to satisfying these needs.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for counting documents, such as currency from a plurality of different currency systems.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for authenticating currency from a plurality of different currency systems.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for counting and authenticating currency from a plurality of different currency systems.
In accordance with still yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that automatically determines appropriate operating parameters corresponding to a designated type of currency system and denomination.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that allows an operator to customize the system operating parameters so that the system can process currency from a plurality of different currency systems.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that can be easily changed from accommodating one currency type to another, for example, by simply using one or more keys or pushbuttons. For example, depressing one or more keys or pushbuttons may permit scrolling through and selecting from among a plurality of different currency systems that can be processed.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that can automatically learn the characteristics of authentic currency from a plurality of different currency systems.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that allows the parameters corresponding to a plurality of different currency systems to be easily changed and/or adjusted.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that allows a programmed set of operating parameters to be quickly and easily transferred from one system to another.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system that allows a manufacturer to produce a single system for operation in a plurality of countries having different currency systems.
These and other aspects of the invention are embodied in a system for processing a plurality of different types of currency. The system, according to one embodiment, includes an input receptacle for receiving a stack of currency bills to be counted, a counting sensor for counting the number of bills in the stack, and an output receptacle for receiving the bills after they have been counted. A transport mechanism is included for transporting bills, one at a time, from the input receptacle past the counting sensor to the output receptacle. An operator interface panel is provided and includes a display for displaying information to an operator. An input device specifies the type of currency, e.g., country, casino or arcade script, or the like to be processed by the system and the denomination of currency to be processed. A processor is also included for calculating the total value of the bills based on the number of bills of each type counted by the counting sensor and the type and denomination(s) specified by the input device. The total value is displayed, together with a symbol corresponding to the type of currency specified by the operator. The system may further include an authenticating unit for authenticating each of the bills. The system may also include a resident flash memory and be capable of supporting a flash card for interacting with the resident memory.
According to another embodiment, a note counting system is provided with size detection sensors. The size detection sensors are used to measure the size of bills being processed. Based on the measured size, the denomination of a bill being processed is determined. Then, based on the determined denomination, other parameters are automatically selected by the system. For example, master information to be used for authentication can be selected based on the determined denomination. Likewise, the operator interface panel may change to indicate the determined denomination of the bill.
In another embodiment, the system includes a learn mode and a standard mode. One or more sensors are provided, each adapted in the learn mode to process one or more master currency bills to obtain master information associated with at least one attribute of the master currency bills. The sensors are adapted in the standard mode to process a stack of bills to obtain data associated with at least one attribute of the bills. The system further includes a processor that is adapted in the standard mode to determine the authenticity of each of the bills by comparing the data associated with a selected attribute to the master information corresponding to the selected attribute.